Flies

Since the dawn of man, flies have been the bane of his existence. They have taken his blood, contaminated his food, transmitted diseases, generally annoyed him, and disturbed his peace. Most flies do serve as a vital function in nature. Unfortunately, they have adapted well to living with humans in and around their buildings. Once a fly enters a building, lands on food to feed, or bites a person, it becomes a pest.

Flies lay their eggs in almost any warm moist material which will furnish suitable food for the growing larvae. Animal manure, human excrement, garbage, decaying vegetable material and ground contaminated with such organic mater are suitable materials.

Although they are attracted to a wide variety of food materials, house flies have mouthparts which enable them to ingest only liquid materials. Solid materials are liquefied by means of regurgitated saliva. This liquefied food is then drawn up by the mouthparts and passed onto the digestive tract.

During daylight hours house flies will rest on floors, walls and ceilings indoors. Outdoors they will rest on plants, on the ground, on fence wires, garbage cans and other similar surfaces. At night they will rest principally on ceilings, electric wires and dangling light cords indoors. In all situations they prefer corners and edges or thin objects such as wires and strings.

As with all species of flies, the first method of control is through sanitation. Wet organic material on which flies can lay their eggs must be removed, destroyed, therefore eliminating any future breeding sources. Killing adult flies will reduce infestation, but elimination of breeding areas is necessary for good management. Most product labels will allow you to apply to surfaces where pests collect or rest.

Insecticide Concentrates

– These concentrates are mixed with water and used in a compressed hand held sprayer to make your application.

Dusts

Dusts are usually used to treat into cracks and crevices (such as in the crack between the wall baseboard and floor), in wall voids, cavities, attics or crawl spaces. Be sure that there is proper ventilation in the room and that you don’t over dust or dust in areas accessible by people.

More on treating for flies

House flies, flesh flies, bottle flies and blow flies breed in similar substances such as decaying organic materials like garbage, animal excrement or decaying animal carcass. Garbage cans and dumpsters should have tight-fitting lids and be cleaned regularly. Drainage will often aid control, getting rid of extra moisture. Openings of buildings should be tightly screened with screen.

One of the cooler products we have seen lately comes to us from BASF. It is the PT Alpine Pressurized Fly Bait. This liquid bait is a ready to use aerosol that can be quickly and easily applied to areas where flies congregate, roost and feed, containers, under tables and benches, recycling bins, dumpsters, behind vending machines, walls and/or areas where flies are likely to congregate or infest.

QuickStrike Fly Abatement Strip
Nuisance flies are drawn to the strip by a triple-action attractant. After flies locate the device, they explore the surface, and then begin feeding. Flies die within seconds after they begin feeding. Try the QuikStrike Fly Abatement Strips!